Sony Walkman MZ-R700 Personal MiniDisc Player

I needed a portable audio recording device and couldn't find a current product that matched my requirement for a small portable recorder with a microphone input and good sound quality. A bit of research on the net pointed me towards recordable minidisc players. The MRZ-700 has a microphone input and automatic and manual recording level adjustment. Using a Stereo Electret Condenser Microphone, bought on Ebay, the sound quality of recordings is brilliant. Recordings can be transferred to computer by connecting from the headphone socket to the line-in on the computer. There are programmes available to save the file in formats such as WAV or MP3. Sound quality is superb, but if you don't need to record from a microphone personal minidisc players have simply been superceded by the memory capacity, physical size and ease of use of MP3 players.

With the introduction of Ipods, mini disc players were obsolete almost overnight and for general play-back of commercially produced recordings it is easy to see why. However if like myself you wish to make recordings in clubs or other venues, the mini disc recorder is still one of the best pieces of equipment and very easy to use. Because of the above comments, it is possible to find these items on eBay at prices around 25% of their original cost which presents the amateur sound recordist with a real bargain. As far as I am concerned there is only one thing that I could improve on with this particular model. There is no back light to the information windows on either the main machine or it's remote control. This can be a slight problem if you are recording in a dark club for instance but even then there are ways to get around the problem. I bought this particular model because I had had one previously which had been accidentally damaged in a club. I had replaced it immediately with a model from the Sharp group but found it much harder to use. When the sharp eventually failed I found it was far cheaper to buy another machine rather than get the sharp repaired. This I think will be true of all mini disc machines. My advice would be to get a price for repair then check availability on eBay.
The reasons that I like this particular model are as follows. It is easy to use once you learn the system menus. (important when you are recording "live" dates). Because of it's compression system it is possible to record up to 320minutes in stereo but I would never put more than 160 mins on a disc and if you want the very best quality, 74 - 80 mins is the maximum. It takes less than 30 seconds to change a disc. Another good point is that apart from being able to run the machine off the mains, it is also powered by ordinary dry or rechargeable batteries -which many users will already have. When recording in LP2 mode (160 mins) a fully charged rechargeable battery will give approx. 6hours of recording time. There are special microphones available for mini disc recorders but even a lapel type microphone gives very good results. Also because the recordings are "digital" they can be downloaded to a computer. Discs are still available and very cheap. This machine will also name and title your discs and the discs can be protected thereby ensuring that you don't accidentally record over an existing recording. You can of course record over an existing recording if you wish and you can do it as often as you wish.

Just to sum up, this machine does most things that an on site recodist would want and does it to a very high standard. It also does it at a very competitive price and I have no hesitation in recommending this machine to other recording enthusiasts.

I bought it to record live band music. With the use of a stereo microphone the recording quality is great. and the size makes it very portable. It has a useful remoter control attached to the stereo headset and is very easy to use.

Good condition, good e-bay-er, Bought for recording vocal practice, excellent performance, still getting used to it.
Ta

The Minidisc and all the extras were in excellent condition and worked perfectly. They were well packed and looked as though they were brand new.

this is a fantastic piece of kit. very easy to use and has a lot of features for little money. probably not as good as an ipod for ease of data transfer, but still it's nice to hold media in your hand and feel the smooth click as the door shuts, then the whir as the motor spins the disc. nice nice nice.

there are many Minidisc units on ebay, so bag yourself a bargain and enjoy the 1990 once more

one more thing, you have to make sure you can record disc, because there aren't many shops selling current music on MD.

I bought the player to record vocal line and piano to be converted to cd for my singing pupils. Works well at recording but still trying to fathom out how to get the data to cd.

this mini disc is exactly what i need to my work and my private life. mini disc can record up to 5 hours in excellent quality. best for a dj who would like to record live sets

I bought it becasuse I broke my MZ-N710 as I need to record voice for projects I do, I hadn't realised it doesn't have an automatic time mark function; tracks have to be set manually, which is a nuisance, but otherwise it has all the functionality I need. The only porblem with Sony minidiscs is not being able to copy from them, even one's own voice recorded stuff.

A nice looking model with easy to use controls. I bought it for me to use but since my wife saw it she has seconded it for her own use. An excellent performance with great sound and a good lcd display. Recommended